


Studying

by whitherwaywill



Series: one chapter wonders [9]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, James wants to make Lily happy, Lily just wants to study, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), Tooth-Rotting Fluff, total fluff as in, wolfstar if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:13:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24724357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitherwaywill/pseuds/whitherwaywill
Summary: "I'm here to study, not play a stupid game!"..NEWTs are coming up, and Lily is getting more stressed every passing day. James just wants to help her unwind, but will she let him?
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Series: one chapter wonders [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1689838
Kudos: 23





	Studying

“Okay, Evans. Truth... or dare.”

Lily looked up from where she was busy laying out her books and notes. Potter was offering her a shot of what appeared to be firewhiskey, his eyebrows arched devilishly. Behind him, Sirius and Remus wore equally impish expressions. 

“I - what? James! This was _supposed_ to be a study group!”

“Aha! James! She said it!” James elbowed Sirius in the side, the firewhiskey spilling over the sides of the shot glass. “Pay up, Black, I _told_ you she called me by my first name now.”

“Aw, come on, Lily,” Sirius whined, digging around in the pockets of his leather jacket. Lily couldn’t believe he was wearing it indoors. He came up short of a sickle, and offered James a cigarette instead. “All I’ve got, mate.”

Lily snatched it out of James’ hand before he could light it. 

“You can’t smoke, Potter!” she hissed.

“Dammit, Sirius, I’m back to Potter again!”

“Not exactly his fault, mate.” Remus clapped James and Sirius on the back. 

“I was only holding the bloody - you know what, we’ve gotten off topic.” James turned back to Lily, and shoved the firewhiskey in her face. It had almost entirely slopped out of the glass. “Truth or dare, Evans?”

“She picks dare,” Marlene said, popping up next to Lily. 

“I do not!” Lily could feel a furious blush on her face. “I thought this was a study group!”

James looked around. In the past few minutes, someone had turned on some music, and the Gryffindor common room now resembled a study group as much as a garden snake resembled a king cobra. 

“Well, we’ve hijacked your study group,” Sirius said gleefully. “It’s a party now!”

“Aaand, people play games at parties,” James added. “You know, normal, fun loving people.”

Lily batted at Marlene, who was attempting to discreetly put away all of her school work, with Sirius’ help. “Marley - stop…”

“I’m just trying to _help,_ Lily…”

She was so caught up in trying to salvage her schoolwork, she didn’t notice James creeping up behind her. 

“Truth or dare, Evans?” he breathed, right beside her ear. She barely suppressed an unbecoming screech.

“Stop it!” she shrieked, pushing James away from her. “I’m here to study, not play a stupid game! Or, or…” Lily glanced around. All around her, Gryffindors and a few Hufflepuffs poured shots of firewhiskey, and ground up against one another. In a corner, she could see Peter and a few others playing a raucous game of Exploding Snap.

“You told me we were going to study,” she frowned at James, blinking rapidly. “Me, you, Marlene, Remus, Sirius, Mary - you told me we were going to study for NEWTs. We only have a month, James! One month!”

“I…” James scratched the back of his neck, looking down sheepishly. “If I told you it was a party, I knew you wouldn’t come, that you would try and hide out in our rooms or something…”

“You’re right!” Lily burst out. She shoved all of her papers into a haphazard pile, throwing the books into her bag. “I’m going back to the Head dorms.”

Lily focused on James’ earnest eyes, pretending not to notice as Remus, Marlene, and Sirius warily backed away. 

“I wouldn’t move the party there, if I were you,” she said, casting a scornful glance around the common room. “ _Dumbledore_ might not care, but I’m sure _McGonagall_ would.”

She stomped out of Gryffindor Tower, shouldering people out of her way. The noise from the party was muffled as soon as the portrait closed behind her. 

Lily took a deep breath, allowing herself a moment to calm down, before she straightened her shoulders, and marched off towards the head dorms. No one would be able to bother her there. Well, James might, seeing as he was Head Boy and the dorms were his too, but he -

“Evans, wait!”

Lily almost dropped her books in surprise. James appeared out of nowhere, his footsteps clattering behind her. She stopped for a millisecond to give him a properly scathing glare, before she continued towards her dorms. 

“I don’t have anything to say to you, Potter.”

“Potter again?” James fell into step beside her. “I thought I was James, now.”

“Sure,” Lily allowed. “Until you decided to let Sirius spring a party on me, and ruin my perfectly good study group.”

“Right.”

He matched her long strides, as she stalked towards the Head dorms. At the entrance, she stopped, staring stonily at the portrait.

James sighed. “ _Portmanteau.”_

Lily stalked inside, and dropped her study materials onto the table, sinking into a chair. Sighing, she began to sort her papers _again_. 

James hovered near the door, unsure of what to do. It didn’t seem like Lily was in the mood to talk. She slapped her papers down in piles with an angry efficiency. 

One of the papers caught her eye. “Ugh, damn!”

James’ eyebrows jumped off his forehead. “My, my, Miss Evans, what language!”

“Shut up,” Lily muttered, pushing a few strands of hair off of her face. “I wanted to ask Remus about how he interpreted this passage from the reading in Runes…”

James sighed as she glared pointedly at him again. He made his way over to the table, tugging the offending paper out of her hands. 

“Why don’t we go back to the Tower?” he suggested. “Have a little fun. You can talk to Remus tomorrow, and look at the problem with fresh eyes…”

“No!” Lily cried. “No, it can’t wait… dammit, if only Sirius hadn’t decided tonight was the night he wanted to throw a rager…”

“Actually…” James winced. “The party was my idea. I sort of...arranged it.”

“You WHAT?” Lily shrieked. “James, why on earth would you -”

“I thought you’d like it,” he said defensively. “Have some fun. You’ve been so tense, lately. Stressed. You need to relax or you’re going to wig out.”

“Relax?” Lily was shaking, her hands clenched on the edge of the table. “No, Potter, there is no time for me to relax. What part of _we have a month left before the NEWTs_ do you not understand?”

“It’s a month!” James shouted, his jaw working. “You’ve been studying non-stop since November, Evans, you’re going to be _fine,_ assuming you don’t have a mental breakdown before then.”

“Potter -”

James hurried around the table, and placed his hands on Lily’s shoulders. “Hey, look at me. Evans - _Lily -_ you’re going to be fine. The NEWTs are nothing to worry about.”

“I know it’s _nothing_ to you, James, that you can do whatever you want with your life whether or not you get any NEWTs, but this is everything to me! If I don’t pass -” Lily stopped, her eyes wide. “If I don’t pass, I don’t have a future.”

“I -” James studied her. 

She looked away, rubbing a hand across her face. “It’s fine. I’m fine. Just... forget I said anything.”

“We just wanted to have a little fun, Evans,” James said quietly. “Lily.”

“Well, I wanted to study,” Lily spat. 

“Okay,” James said easily. “Let’s study.” 

He planted himself next to her at the table, and dragged a few of her books over. Opening them, he began to read. 

Lily gaped at him. 

“I - James, what are you doing?”

He looked up, pushing his glasses up his nose. “Studying.”

“Why? Aren’t you the one who arranged that whole party?”

He shrugged, turning a page. 

“So… what are you doing here? Why aren’t you still at the party?”

“You’re not at the party,” he said simply. Then he went back to reading. 

Lily stared at him incredulously. “Are you seri -” She cut herself off as James gave her an anticipatory grin. Taking a deep breath, she rephrased, “Are you really here, studying, just because I am? Even though you’ve got an entire party set up in the common room?”

James swallowed and gently closed the book. Pushing his glasses up his nose, he met Lily’s gaze. 

“I know you think I’m an attention seeking jerk, and an arrogant toe rag,” he said quietly, smirking a little at the last insult. “But I… I really like you, Lily, for real. And I know I was way off base, with tricking you into a party and all. I just wanted to spend time with you - not looking at books, or agonizing over the prefect schedule - just you, and me, and -”

Lily cut him off, leaning forward and pressing her lips to his. He froze for a split second, then he was kissing her back, his lips moving against hers as he twined his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. 

“What are you doing?” James breathed.

Lily pulled back, her eyes wide. “Studying,” she blurted out. “I’m studying.” She made to back into her own chair, but James held her still. 

An incorrigible grin was growing on his face. He snuck another kiss. “And what are you studying, Miss Evans?”

“Transfiguration -” _kiss_ “- Potions -” _kiss “You,”_ she sighed. 

He pulled away. “I have an idea,” he said.

“Oh?”

“Let’s not look at another book tonight,” he proposed. “Tomorrow, we’ll study all day if that’s what you want to do. But tonight - tonight, let’s be _young_ , and reckless, and let’s forget all about the NEWTs.”

“Fine,” she conceded. “But you are not allowed to brag about this to Sirius, or Remus, or Peter, or -”

“Okay,” James acquiesced with a smile. He tugged on her hand, pulling her towards the couch. “Will you say yes, the next time I ask you to marry me?”

“Depends,” Lily giggled, tumbling onto the couch and straddling James. “Will it be in public? Will you be standing on the breakfast table again?”

“Maybe,” James said, smiling against her lips. “Would you like that?”

Lily pulled back, suddenly sober. Her fingers traced James’ jaw. His grin faded, and the air was charged with a magnified tension. 

“The next time you ask me to marry you,” Lily whispered, “it has to be for real.”

James nodded, his hands butterflying across Lily’s face. 

“For real,” he promised. “For real.”


End file.
